The Yankees wore down Lowe early in the top of the first inning. Derek Jeter grounded out to second before Bernie Williams struck out swinging. Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi worked back to back walks before Gary Sheffield grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Yankees starter Jose Contreras in the bottom of the first inning. Johnny Damon whiffed to start but Bill Mueller singled to left. David Ortiz whiffed but Manny Ramirez singled. Kevin Millar put the Sox on top with a double to score Mueller before Ellis Burks flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Yankees wasted no time coming back against Lowe in the top of the second inning. Hideki Matsui grounded out to second but Jorge Posada walked. Travis Lee singled to left but Enrique Wilson flied out to left. Jeter singled home Posada to tie the game. Williams grounded into a force to end the inning but it was tied 1-1.
Jason Varitek singled to open the bottom of the second but Cesar Crespo whiffed. Pokey Reese flied out to left and Varitek was gunned down trying to steal to end the inning.
The Yankees knocked Lowe out in the top of the third inning. A-Rod walked before Giambi singled A-Rod to third. Sheffield doubled A-Rod home to give the Yankees the lead before Matsui singled in Giambi to put runners at the corners. Posada doubled home Sheffield but somehow Lowe punched out Lee. Wilson singled home Matsui and moved Posada to third before Jorge scored on the Jeter groundout. Williams doubled home Wilson and Sox manager Terry Francona had seen enough. Lowe was absolutely hammered in the third inning and left allowing 7 runs in just 2 2/3 innings...woof! Mark Malaska came in and A-Rod flied out to center to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 7-1.
The Sox did manage to fight back in the bottom of the third as Damon singled to start. Mueller walked and Damon went to third on the fly out by Ortiz. Ramirez doubled home both men to cut the lead. Millar walked and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Yankees manager Joe Torre had seen enough and lifted the incompetent Contreras mid at-bat. Paul Quantrill came in and the rally ended when Burks hit a ground ball to to third, Manny getting thrown out at home on the play. Varitek grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were down 7-3.
Malaska came out for the top of the fourth as Giambi flied out to right to start. Sheffield doubled to left and Matsui walked but Posada popped up to second. Lee grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the fourth although Crespo grounded out to second to begin. Reese walked but was erased on the Damon force. Mueller singled to left but Ortiz popped up to short to end the inning.
Malaska returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth. Wilson flied out to center to start but Jeter singled to right. Williams popped up to first before A-Rod looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Manny flied out to right, Millar whiffed and Burks flied out to right to end the inning.
Phil Seibel came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Giambi was plunked to start. Giambi was erased on the Sheffield force before Matsui flied out to center. Posada grounded into a force to end the inning. Gabe White took the mound in the bottom of the sixth and Varitek singled to start. The rally ended as Crespo lined out to second before Reese popped up to first. Damon grounded into a force to end the inning.
Seibel returned for the top of the seventh and Lee flied out to right to begin. Wilson grounded back to the mound before Jeter and Williams drew back to back walks. A-Rod grounded out to second to end the inning. White got Mueller to fly out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before Ortiz grounded out to first. Tom Gordon came in to pitch to Manny and Ramirez flied out to right to end the inning.
Seibel got Giambi to strike out swinging to open the top of the eighth. Sheffield grounded out to short before Matsui flied out to center to end the inning. Gordon cruised in the bottom of the eighth as Millar popped up to short to begin. Burks flied out to center before Varitek flied out to left to end the inning.
Seibel returned for the top of the ninth but ran out of gas, walking Posada to start. Lee flied out to center and Wilson flied out to right but Jeter walked to chase Seibel. A yeoman's effort by Seibel who tossed 3 2/3 shutout innings against the high powered Yankees lineup. None other than Frank Castillo came on for the final out although he walked Williams to load the bases. A-Rod flied out to center to end the inning.
Yankees manager Joe Torre took no chances and brought in Mariano Rivera with a four run lead to close out the bottom of the ninth. Crespo grounded out to third before Gabe Kapler pinch hit for Reese and singled to right. Damon flied out to right and Mueller grounded out to short to end the game. The Yankees bullpen tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings to win the game 7-3.
Jackass of the Night is Derek Lowe. He got knocked out in the third inning and gave up 7 runs that the offense couldn't come back from.
The Good:
Bill Mueller was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Kevin Millar was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Jason Varitek was 2 for 4.
Gabe Kapler singled as a pinch hitter
Mark Malaska tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Phil Seibel held the Yankees scoreless for 3 2/3 innings.
Frank Castillo got the final out of the top of the ninth.
The Bad:
David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Ellis Burks was 0 for 4.
Cesar Crespo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Johnny Damon was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Pokey Reese was 0 for 2 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Any loss hurts but against the Yankees it hurts even more. Lowe simply didn't have it but that was a tremendous effort by the little used members of the bullpen. Malaska, Castillo and Seibel held the Yankees scoreless after Lowe left the game but unfortunately so did the Yankees bullpen after Contreras left. That's an encouraging sign for future games if the bullpen doesn't crap themselves, normally the Sox could bop their way back into a game. Just not today it seemed as the Yankees owed them one. Still the Sox have won two games already in this four game set and tomorrow the finale will be the Patriots Day morning game. Bronson Arroyo takes the hill for the Sox up against Kevin Brown at the special start time of 11 AM at Fenway Park.
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